Financial Tribune | Hamid Molazadeh: Iran holds the world's second biggest natural gas reserves after Russia.

Gas production has surpassed 870 million cubic meters per day and a large number of city and village dwellers are supplied with the fuel which has affected people�s well-being positively to some extent.

Officials often proudly trumpet their success in expanding the natural gas network (including in far-flung villages) over the past four decades. However, the long-term effects of what they claim to be a blessing is not very clear as it can be a curse as well.

One question academics and energy experts have raised is, �Was it really necessary to invest billions of dollars to lay huge pipelines and supply 80 million people with gas so that they could heat up their homes when there were other viable options?�